Chicago Red Stars Come Crashing To Earth Just as They Need To Shine

I found myself looking for the headlights at Toyota Park Sunday afternoon, because for five deadly minutes early in the match, the Chicago Red Stars looked like deer.

For those five minutes, the Boston Breakers were running past Chicago's comatose defenders to score three point blank goals.

Kelly Smith was the main source of offense for Boston, netting goals in the ninth and 12th minutes, then assisting former Red Star Ifeoma Dieke's goal in the 14th to take a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Red Stars would eventually tally once, on a set piece, but even after that lift did not look like a club that believed they could keep coming back.

Kosovare Aslani (pictured above), who scored the lone goal said it herself. "By the time we scored it was pretty late to come back and win," she said.  

It was a beautiful goal, though, in the 80th minute off of a Casey Nogueira free kick from the left side.

Considering the fact that the Red Stars have shown more toughness, resilience, and focus since a coaching change midseason and have actually been able to come from behind when down by as many as two goals early in the game, it was disheartening to see such regression today.

The club played like the "old" Red Stars under their first coach Emma Hayes, who dominated their opponents but almost always found ways to lose in spite of themselves, with momentary defensive lapses, and whose coach had no ability to rally the team to overcome adversity, or to generate offense in any case.

With a 3-0 deficit, the Red Stars made an early substitution with Asllani replacing defender Natalie Spilger in the 24th minute. Chicago went with a three-player defensive back line, and shortly after the move the Red Stars nearly got a goal back.

In the 27th minute, Red Stars defender Whitney Engen hit the crossbar as the ball ricocheted down to the ground. Karen Carney was there for a rebound, but Breakers goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made the save.

Another close call for a Red Stars goal came early in the second half when Brazilian forward Cristiane hit the right post.

The Red Stars held an 18-7 shots edge and a 10-6 shots on goal advantage against the Breakers. In the net, Naeher made eight saves for the clean sheet and Red Stars goalkeeper Jillian Loyden made two saves.

Chicago area native Amy Lepielbet anchored a solid Boston defense to he delight of her local fan club, annoying the home crowd in the stands.

Considering the fact that despite a very slow start, Chicago had clawed their way into playoff position, being tied for the fourth and final playoff berth with Washington going into today's game, and knew how important it was to keep focused, it is baffling and maddening for the fans and the Red Star community that these professional players allowed themselves to be bushwacked.

Considering the fact that the Boston Breakers are the one club that until today had been unable to defeat Chicago in the history of Women's Professional Soccer, it was a very inopportune occasion to interrupt the streak.

Not only was it the end of a positive streak for Chicago, but it was a new negative record-- the most goals scored against the Red Stars since a 3-2 loss to Washington a year ago this weekend.

"I'm terribly embarrassed and ashamed of our performance today," Head coach Omid Namazzi said.

Some unusual happenings took place statistically in the first half of Sunday's match. Aside from Boston's flurry of goals—three within a span of approximately five minutes—the Breakers did not commit a single foul in the first 45 minutes. Boston also did not have a single corner kick or offside call in the first half.

Nikki Washington, a University of North Carolina product, made her Red Stars and WPS debut when she replaced Megan Rapinoe in the 69th minute.

Three former Red Stars made their first return to Toyota Park wearing Boston blue. Along with Dieke, Lindsay Tarpley and Chama Igwe, members of the inaugural Red Stars roster, last year, are now on the Boston side.  

With the win, the Breakers move up to third place in the league standings with a 5-6-4 record and 19 points, one point ahead of defending champion Sky Blue FC. The win was Boston's fourth in five matches.

Chicago falls to 4-7-5 but still is heavily in the mix with 17 points and a current fifth-place tie with the Washington Freedom.

The question is, are the Red Stars moving closer to playoff contention, or further away. "Unless we can change our attitude, I don't expect us to make the playoffs," Namazi said.

He cited the need for some player to step up and get the team amped up if they fall behind. "Someone like Keele from Manchester United," he said.

He also said the team needs to come out with an attitude from the start. "When we do that, we do well. But we have problems with consistency. There's usually a point in time in a match when the energy lags and we have these lapses," Namazi said.

"I'm going to create more pressure from the start," he said. "I want them going out there with a chip on their shoulders."

Namazi also said the team suffers from a lack of maturity, which may account for the inconsistency. "Other than Markgraf and Formiga they're all pretty young," he said.   

Next up for the Red Stars is a three-game road trip, starting with a 6 p.m. match on Wednesday, July 28, against the Philadelphia Independence at Westchester, Pa. The road swing includes matches at Sky Blue FC (Aug. 1) and at FC Gold Pride (Aug. 7). Chicago's next home match is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, against Philadelphia at Toyota Park.

Boston Breakers at Chicago Red Stars
July 25, 2010 -- Bridgeview, Ill.
Breakers 3, Red Stars 1
Breakers     3    0    -    3
Red Stars    0    1    -    1

SCORING SUMMARY
1. Breakers - Smith (unassisted), 9; 2. Breakers - Smith (Tarpley), 12; 3. Breakers - Dieke (Smith), 14; 4. Red Stars - Asllani (Nogueira), 80.
Red Stars: Loyden (GK), Dalmy, Markgraf, Engen, Spilger (Asllani, 24), Formiga, Chapman, Carney, Rapinoe (Washington, 69), Cristiane, Masar (Nogueira, 59).
Breakers: Naeher (GK), LePeilbet, Dieke, Cox, Scott, Osborne, Tarpley, Lilly, Angeli (Del Rio, 72), Smith (Hemmings, 88), Cheney.

STATISTICS:
Shots: Red Stars 18, Boston 7
Shots on goal: Red Stars 10, Boston 6
Saves: Red Stars 2, Boston 8
Corner kicks: Red Stars 5, Boston 2
Offsides: Red Stars 3, Boston 5
Fouls: Red Stars 6, Boston 6
Cautions and ejections:
None
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant referees: Vicente Cortes, Miguel Panduro Jr.
Fourth official: Victor Herrera
Attendance: 3,673